2 different main posters for SBS’s new Wednesday – Thursday drama “Protect The Boss” has been revealed

Using the concept of “Flower Bodyguard”, posters that were revealed feature the main cast of Ji Sung, Choi Kang Hee, Jaejoong and Wang Ji Hye, showing thier characters in a “4 people, 4 colors” version, as well as Ji Sung and Choi Kang Hee in a two-shot version, a total of two different types.

Taking over after “City Hunter” ends, “Protect the Boss” which airs on 3 August talks about the female lead who was struggling with finding employment, and eventually becomes the secretary to the male lead, an unruly son of a chaebol family, which leads to a series of incidents that are sweet, insane, happy and lighthearted. This romantic comedy is directed by Son Jung Hyun of “Lovers in Paris,” “Temptation of an Angel,” “First Wives’ Club” and written by Kwong Ki Young, and is highly anticipated.

Playing the role of the “Prince of the Financial World” Cha Mu Won is Kim Jaejoong, who has recently been able to express his role’s cool image perfectly for the drama.

In mid-July, while shooting a scene at the conference room in Seongnam City Hall, Kim Jaejoong who does not usually use technical jargon, kept studying the script and materials, while discussing with the production team about where he was to stand during the shoot and was practiced repeatedly.

Once director Son Jung Hyun called for the actual shoot to start, Kim Jaejoong stood in front of the various “directors” in the drama and performed smoothly, completing the scene without any NGs, his presentation skills surprising the production crew.

One of the related staff said, “Kim Jaejoong was in America from April to June, and was doing his concert tour in Canada, Asia and such. During then, he also took on the role of director, and after the concerts, he received a standing ovation from the staff. This same passion and sincerity was displayed during the filming of this drama. “

“Protect The Boss” stars Ji Sung, Choi Kang Hee, Kim Jaejoong, Wang Ji Hye as well as Park Yong Kyu, Cha Hwa Yun, Kim Chung as well as others. The first episode will be aired at 9.55pm on 3 August.

Currently, K-pop has broken past the first barrier. That is to say, they have already established the value of their existence. However, this is just the beginning. To globalize K-pop, there are three main issues they need to overcome.

Break away from “Idol Stars”

The first generation of Hallyu was led by actors. Korean dramas were pushed forward in large numbers, with Bae Yong Jun, Lee Byung Hyun, Song Seung Hun, Kwong Sang-Woo and other actors becoming popular as Hallyu idols. However, due to extensive “blank periods” and poor management, the hallyu wave that was led by actors became stagnant.

During this time, the idol stars seized the opportunity and took over this space. Led by TVXQ, and now SNSD, Kara etc, a large volume of girl groups have been gaining the attention of overseas markets. They spearhead the Korean Idol culture, and have broken the geographic barriers between countries.

However, this trend is starting to be a little overdone, and has established the stereotype that “Hallyu = Idol stars.” Aside from music, even dramas such as “Playful Kiss” and “You’re Beautiful” star members from idol groups. To ensure that Hallyu wave can make better progress, aside from appealing to the younger age groups with idol groups, we urgently need to grasp and establish ourselves in a broader age categories and a variety of Hallyu elements. A person related to one of the idol groups said, “We need to discover new hallyu stars, to appeal to the overseas fans who do not like idol groups. If we can give them a stage (opportunity,) then the hallyu wave will be able to progress further.

Break Away From The Japanese Market

Japan, which is located next to Korea is one of the biggest appreciators of the Hallyu culture. From another angle, you can say that it was the Japanese fans’ support that have helped the hallyu stars to grow. Aside from Japan, China, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and various Asian regions have seen a rise in popularity for Hallyu stars. However the truth is, a majority of the hallyu stars are over-reliant on the Japanese market’s support.

With TVXQ, Big Bang, SNSD, Kara and others, recently everyone is trying to break into the Japanese market. They are very sensitive towards the Oricon rankings. The strange thing is that, compared to the current lack of emphasis on song ranking programs in the Korean market, Korean singers are more sensitive to the ranking charts in Japan. This shows that they are using this (Oricon rankings) as a measure of their popularity in Japan.

Aside from Japan, starting from the time of H.O.T., Hallyu stars have been enjoying great popularity in China. However, the issue is that the public is only focused on a specific few stars. Although Super Junior, Rain, SNSD and other are very popular, but China, unlike Japan, is still unable to allow more groups and singers to actively promote there.

And under such circumstances, the group JYJ released their first English album “The Beginning” in October last year, and was judged as “daring to try something new.” JYJ joined hands with famous American producers Kanye West and Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, and using the new group name “JYJ” released their first album produced in English. This album bears the significance of “starting their journey towards the world stage.” The three members, who have dominated the Japanese and Asian markets, have set their sights on the global market, and can be regarded as leaders in “breaking away from Japan.”

Someone in the music industry said, “When you analyze the structure of the Chinese market, it’s not hard to know that they are more appealing than the Japanese market. But so far, the progress of singers has not been as smooth as in Japan. Aside from that, they should also be looking at Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan etc, and create more roadways for the Hallyu wave.”

Break Away from Stereotypes!

The first pioneers of the hallyu wave were dramas. “Jewel in the Palace,” “Winter Sonata” made it big, and big stars like Bae Young Jun and Lee Young-Ae were born. Recently, due to “You’re Beautiful,” Jang Geun Suk has become the new hallyu star, but compared to the time of “Winter Sonata,” the power of dramas in the hallyu wave has been considerably diminished.

And the space left by the dramas was filled by K-pop. The hallyu market which was dominated by male idols has now hit a turning point led by SNSD and Kara. K-pop can be considered as the successor to J-pop, which has captured the Asian music market.

On the other hand, the power of the hallyu wave at Chungmuro (T/N: refers to the film industry – Chungmuro is the street in Korea that is famous for culture & film) has become plain. Actors who have become hallyu stars through their dramas also boosts the popularity of the movies they are featured in, but using popularity to break into the Japanese film industry is not enough, a situation where “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” Someone related to sales in the hallyu market said, “Korean movies have been promoted in various overseas markets, but the effect is not strong enough to be considered part of the hallyu wave. Unlike television dramas which can be watched on public broadcast, movies require an entrance fee, so the visibility among the masses is lower.”

If we want to the multi-faceted Korean culture to be embraced in all fields, not just for dramas and music, we need to promote our movies, games and food as well as other areas, and introduce more variety.

110724 JYJ Kim Jaejoong : ” While Drinking, Kim Hyunjoong Said That He Wants To Release An Album Together”

JYJ member Kim Jaejoong showed his close friendship with Kim Hyunjoong.

In a recent interview with Seoul News NTN. Kim Jaejoong talks about interesting episodes between himself and Kim Hyunjoong, who are both same-age friends in the entertainment circle.

On this day, when Kim Jaejoong was talking about being a director for concerts, he was asked, “What if you were to be the director for another artist’s concert?” Jaejoong thought about this question for a while, then asked the reporter, “How about Kim Hyunjoong?” Kim Jaejoong said, “He will probably do it himself, although I’m not sure if he will do a concert or not, but it’s possible that he might do it.”

“A few days ago, while drinking with Kim Hyunjoong, we talked about when we could possibly record an album together, and actually this has been a topic that we had discussed much earlier before. Then, Kim Hyunjoong had not signed a contract with a new agency yet so there was a rumour that he would join our company, but somehow, we talked about it again (Laughs)”

Kim Jaejoong also said “Working with Kim Hyunjoong should be very interesting, and it would be nice to hold a concert together, not for profit but just for the fans. If I were to direct that, there should be no problems.”

When talking about this, Kim Jaejoong waved his hands and said “I’m really not a network king”

“Korean artists and Japanese artists do make contact with each other, but it doesnt happen often. I too don’t have a lot of friends, but it so happens that my friends are very famous. My friends are mostly interested in fashion, dance and acting, and we have common interests and points of views so we naturally became friends.”

Also, Kim Jaejoong will be making his debut as an actor, playing the role of the “Prince of the Financial World” Cha Mu Won “Protect the Boss,” which airs on 3 August.